Lanber Sporter – target price £500

All guns eventually go out of production, but the saddest loss of recent years has been the Spanish-built Lanber. The basic design goes back to the early 1970s and the gun had been for sale in small numbers in the UK, but it wasn’t until Gunmark took over as importer in 1977 that it became a major player on the UK scene.

Over the years, Gunmark (now re- christened GMK) had much to do with tweaking an already good design. Put simply, in many expert opinions the gun became THE leading starter gun, proved by the fact that in their first 20 years the importers sold 20,000.

But, considering it is no longer made because of problems with the manufacture, how come we recommend it as a good secondhand buy? It’s because it is well- made, reliable, and — most importantly — Gunmark have given an assurance that they hold a heap of spares.

Don’t go for very old guns from the early 1980s, because they are mechanically different to later models. Apart from that, remember that with all second-hand guns condition is more important than age.

Miroku MK60 – target price £1,050

Who would buy a Sporter that wasn’t a multi-choke? The fact is that there are plenty of shooters who prefer the simplicity of a fixed choke. Potentially good balance because the muzzle ends of the barrel tubes are lighter and no agonising about which choke is right for which target are part of it.

That’s where Miroku’s MK60 comes in. It’s a remarkably simple and reliable gun, which has been around since the mid 1990s in various grades and many of the higher- grade guns have very elegant woodwork. Mechanically, the gun is not much different to its predecessor, the MK6000.

Our £1,050 target price is for a second-hand Grade 1 gun, but you can spend far more than that if elegance is important to you. Some quite recent guns are styled the MK Universal Sporting.

Most guns in all grades are choked 1⁄4 and 3⁄4, and that’s my only real criticism. I would much prefer the tighter top barrel to be choked 1⁄2 for both clays and game, but a good gunsmith can put that right if the previous owner hasn’t – that is unless you prefer the factory choking.

Basically, the gun works on Browning principles, same as the modern Brownings built by Miroku, which means it has a relatively tall action and hinges on a full-width cross pin, so be sure you can adapt to it if your current gun is a shallow- action gun hinged on stub pins.

Krieghoff K80 Sporter – target price £6,000+

Make no mistake, a Krieghoff K80 is a very expensive gun to buy new, but the German masterpiece is famed for its long life, so a good secondhand example, which you can pick up for around half the RRP, will always be of interest to shooters who want one of the best competition guns available. And now Krieghoff UK has brought a new dimension to secondhand buying by marketing guns rebuilt by craftsmen.

The models are called K80 REM, which is short for “remanufactured” and they are available through the UK importer, Alan Rhone. Only the best secondhand guns are selected for the REM treatment, and those that are picked are completely stripped down – even slightly worn components are replaced.

At the time of writing, Alan Rhone was offering a K80 Sporter, which had been given the REM treatment for £5,995. And that’s with the same five-year parts and labour guarantee as offered with all REM guns.

The K80, like all Kreighoff O/Us, is mechanically similar to the Remington Model 32 (in production from 1932 to 1944), and its successor, the Model 3200 (1973 to 1984). The most striking thing about the design is the bolting arrangement, in which the bolt is in the form of an exposed hood on top of the standing breech which, when the gun is closed, slides forward over the breech end of the top barrel. Overall, it is a very secure lock-up.

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